ABSTRACT
A minor teen pop idol of the late 1950s and early 1960s, Fabian was born Fabian Forte in Philadelphia. Fabian was “discovered” in 1957 by Frankie Avalon’s managers Pete DeAngelis and Bob Marucci, who were searching for a good-looking teen they could mold into a pop idol. The duo had a number of business deals with deejay/promoter Dick Clark, and arranged for Fabian to be heavily promoted on Clark’s popular “American Bandstand” television program. All of his hits came in 1959, from “I’m A Man” (Chancellor 1029) released in February through his major hits “Turn Me Loose” (#9 pop, April; Chancellor 1033), “Tiger” (#3 pop, June; Chancellor 1037), and the theme from his first film, “Hound Dog Man,” a vapid Elvis Presley imitation (#9 pop, November; Chancellor 1041). A few minor hits followed, and Fabian disappeared from the charts by 1962. He has since had a minor acting career in B films and on television and toured as part of oldies revival shows.
